There's a Secret Button to Raise the Armrest on Your Aisle Seat

In addition to being packed with germs, airplanes are also packed full of passengers clamoring for space and comfort where they can find it, whether it be stuffing their bags into overhead bins for more legroom or reclining those few precious inches to increase their pitch. Yet the next time you're sitting in an aisle seat, you may not have to go so far for that extra comfort: simply reach under your armrest, locate the small lever or button, and push or slide to release the hinge lock, which will allow you to raise the armrest.

There are several planes that may not have movable armrests, however, most have this function in order to facilitate the transfer of non-ambulatory wheelchair passengers or serve as a part of maintenance feature for the seat. Kyle, who has worked for a major airline for four years, tells Condé Nast Traveler that mid-flight, passengers can move the armrest to their hearts' content, but that for safety reasons, flight attendants will ensure the armrest is down for takeoff and landing.

"Keeping it up could allow someone to spill into the aisle a bit, which sounds great, because it means extra room," he says. "But it also means being bumped by every person walking down that aisle to use the lavatory, or even being bumped by flight attendants as we do our service. Ultimately, whichever way makes you comfortable in-flight—up or down—do it. Flight attendants want passengers to be comfortable, because frankly, the more comfortable the passenger is, the more comfortable we all are."